Christmas in Tokyo3
by GodsmackedHalfbreed
Summary: A nice little Christmas fic in spirit of the holidays! Rated T just because I refuse to have ANY of my stories rated any lower! Some OOC but, Come on! It's an EVANGELION Christmas fic!


Hey everybody! It's that time of year again! That time when you get that warm fuzzy feeling inside. So, in honor of the best holiday on the calender, I wrote this little fic! Be on the lookout for other Christmas fics from me later. Now I know that Tokyo-3 doesn't have seasons, but come on! It's a Christmas fic okay? But for now, grab some eggnog, cookies and enjoy!

_**GodsmackedHalfbreed brings you:**_

**Christmas in Tokyo-3**

The snow was coming down. It had been since the end of November and hardly anyone had taken notice of it. Now, December is here and the snow seems more appropriate. It was December 24th, 2015. Christmas was right around the corner and the New Year had it's back. All seemed pleasingly peaceful and serene. There had been no Angel attacks for the entire month and everyone's spirits seemed to have been lifted by the presence of the holiday. The Katsuragi residence was in a delightfully good cheer. Even Shinji had a smile seemingly plastered to his face. Misato was in even better moods than usual. With the lack of attacks, NERV surprisingly let their workers go home for the holidays. Of course, Commander Tight-Ass remained at HQ, like the humbug he was.

Asuka was even a little nicer around this time. She was really enthusiastic about the big day coming tomorrow. She had been a lot nicer to Shinji, even going as far as to help him around the house with the chores and the preparations for the Christmas party. Shinji, Asuka and Rei had all been released from school on the 20th and had had their hands full since than, well Shinji and Asuka that is. Misato had decided to have a nice little Christmas party here at her apartment, and in the spirit of the holiday, Shinji and Asuka agreed. Asuka was out delivering the invitations to the guests while Shinji was cooking the dinner and Misato set up the decorations. They had all decided to set up the tree together later.

Misato had outdone herself with the decor. There were ropes of garland lining the ceilings of the hallways along with the occasional holly. Poinsettia lay on a few desks and more garland lined the remainder of the house. A wreath lay on the outside of all the doors, and of course a mistletoe hang in every doorway. Shinji had previously lent his hand in the decorating by crafting a magnificent gingerbread house and placed it in the middle of the Christmas dinner table. Misato's old one wouldn't have been big enough, so she went out and bought a new one that had a circumference roughly of eight feet. Much larger than the previous three. Ropes of blue, red, green, purple and yellow Christmas lights lined where the garland did not.

Shinji was happily cooking in the kitchen. Working away at the mash potatoes, corn, stuffing, turkey and prime rib. Of course, he prepared a small assortment of vegetables, just in case Rei decided to come. He had finished all but the prime rib and the rest of the food lay on the counters. Misato had taken the liberty of setting the table with the china, that she just bought, of course. And now Asuka had just come in. Now, to let the character actually talk.

"Hey you guys, I'm back!" the redhead exclaimed as she came through the door and hung her coat up on the rack. "Hey Asuka, welcome back!" Shinji greeted her as she came in. She looked around the house in awe, at the fact that Misato had set up the house. She half expected to come home and find the decorations destroyed and numerous beer cans laying about. "Wow! Misato did some kind of job on this place, didn't she?" she said approvingly. Shinji nodded his head in content and then turned his head back to the oven as it chimed. Signaling the rib's completion. "Oh the prime rib's ready." Shinji said as he put on his oven mitts and pulled out the delectable morsel from the oven. As it came out into the open, the aroma began to sweep around the house and it made Asuka drool.

"Ooh, that smells good, Shinji." she said in a dream-like state. She then looked at the counter and saw the fruits of Shinji's labor. Her eyes sparkled and her mouth watered. Running from one end of town to the other is surprisingly hungry work. "Thanks Asuka. I worked real hard on it, so I'd hope it would smell good." Shinji said as he placed the rib on the counter. He took a quick, prideful look over his work and then turned to Asuka. "Hey Asuka, can you help me set the table?" he asked as he brought the rib to the table. "Sure." she replied picking up the corn and the potatoes. "Careful you don't drop those." Shinji warned as they passed each other. "Oh be quiet. Unlike you, I actually have some muscle." she said with a smirk.

Shinji smiled lightly at the little jab and shrugged it off. When all the food was nicely placed around the gingerbread house, Shinji and Asuka plopped down on the couch. "Say, where's Misato?" Asuka asked having not seen her since she got home. "She's out buying everyone a present." he stated. "Really? She's going out and getting EVERY single person a gift?" "Yep." he responded quickly. "Wow. Who'd have figured her so charitable. Although, I bet she's actually out getting some really expensive kind of booze for her and her friends to share during the party." the German stated. "Don't say that. Misato may drink a lot, but she's still considerate." he said.

"Yeah sure." Asuka said lazily. "I just wish she'd hurry up so we can decorate the tree. It looks so lonely and naked over there without any lights or ornaments on it." she said looking at the genuine pine in the corner of the room standing on its base. Shinji looked over at the tree. They had gotten it three days ago. While it's a beautiful tree, he's still worried that the cops will discover that the park is missing one if it's fifteen tree's. Though it was Misato's idea. Her very, very drunk idea. Looking at the tree, looking so dark and forlorn in the corner made him think of someone.

"Hey Asuka. You gave Ayanami her invitation, right?" he asked distantly. Asuka turned to him with a smirk. "Oh don't worry Shinji. I made sure your girlfriend got her invite." she said with a sly grin. Shinji just blushed. "Whatever. I'll be back later." he said as he got up and headed towards the door. "Hey where are you going!?" Asuka called after him. "I'm just going out for a second. I'll be back later, there's some cookies on the counter if you want. Fresh out of the oven. Have as many as you want, I'll make more later." he said as he grabbed his jacket and stepped outside.

Shinji caught the next train down town and headed towards Rei's house. As bad as her complex looked, it looked even more deserted when covered in snow. Shinji ascended the stairs until he reached Rei's floor. He walked down the hall and stopped in front of Rei's door. No matter how many times he stood in front of this door with intention of knocking on it, the thought of always coming face to face with that blue-haired beauty always made his stomach twist. Yes, for a good month now Shinji had acknowledged his feelings for Rei, though he had always been uncomfortable around Rei, now he was just paranoid of her.

"_Come on Shinji! You can do this, just knock on the door!"_ he yelled at himself. He slowly brought his hand up and clenched it into a fist. Then he let his fist fall, and knocked on the door. That one knock, though very soft, was enough to be audible inside Rei's place. He brought his hand back down and within seconds, he was face to face with those ruby eyes that he could stare at for eternity. For a good fifteen seconds they just stood their, staring at each other. The snow was audible hitting the ground behind them. Finally, Rei broke the silence.

"Ikari, can I help you with something?" she asked softly. The sound of her voice brought Shinji out of his little trance enough to get hold of his tongue. "Oh, um well...Asuka gave you your, invi-invitation, right?" he stammered. "Yes she did. Sohryu stopped by a little while ago with an invite for me to your social gathering. She did mention something about it being personally from you, on a count of how much you would like to 'snog' me underneath the 'mistletoe'". Shinji dead panned. He couldn't believe Asuka. _"How could she?! ON CHRISTMAS NO LESS!" _He yelled inside his head. He collected himself up off the floor, his joyous Christmas mood gone. "Well, I guess you won't be coming. I mean, parties aren't really your thing, right? Seeya Ayanami." he said as he began to walk away.

Before he took four steps, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Rei with her hand on his shoulder, staring into his eyes. "If the invitation is personally from you Ikari, then I will attend." Shinji was surprised and relieved at the same time. Surprised that Rei did not know the meaning of 'snog', and relieved that Rei did not know the meaning of 'snog'. "You-you will?" he asked anxiously. She nodded and Shinji let his breath go, it being visible in the air as it escaped from his mouth. "I will see you at your residence tonight, Ikari." she said as she stepped back inside. Shinji nodding as she closed the door. Shinji made sure it was really closed, before he started doing the running man victory dance.

Shinji came back home, feeling even more jolly than he had since getting out of school. Misato was back home already and Asuka was watching some TV. He put his coat on the rack and snuck into his room to leave the parcel on his bed. He came back out and announced his presence. "Hey! Where have you been?! We have been waiting for half an hour for you so we could decorate the tree!" Asuka yelled. Misato came in from the kitchen with one of Shinji's cookies in her hand. "Now, now calm down Asuka. Shinji's here now, so let's get the tree done." So, Shinji got out the decorations as the girls started to hang them up on the tree. When half of the ornaments were up on the tree, Shinji said he needed to go to the bathroom. As he left Misato and Asuka he slipped into his room and grabbed the box. After that, he snuck into the closet and pulled out one of the wrapping paper rolls. Then he snuck back into his room.

After that, he came back out and got right back into the decorating. The tree was covered in traditional ornaments, popcorn strings, colored lights and little Eva ornaments they got from Kensuke. And also, ornaments with Misato, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Toji, Kenskue, Hikari, Ritsuko, Kaji, Maya, Hyuga and Aoba's pictures on them. After the tree was all nice and pretty, all that was needed was to put the star on the top. "I want to put the star on!" Asuka yelled running to the box that the star was supposed to be in...except it wasn't in there. "Huh? What the...where's the star?" she asked rummaging through the other boxes searching frantically for the final ornament. "I don't know. I didn't do anything with it." Shinji said innocently as he slipped the star into the coat closet.

"Well, how can we have a Christmas tree with no star on the top?! It's unheard of! It's practically mutiny to the tree not to put a star on top!" Asuka huffed. "Hey, hey calm down, Asuka. The star is nothing to get excited about." Misato said. "Besides, everything else looks so good, no one will even notice." she said confidently so as to ease the redhead and quell her of her on coming seizure. "Well, if Asuka is done, I think we can all just settle down. Besides" he said looking at the clock, "it's 7:55. Everyone will be here in five minutes. We said it would be formal, so we should all get into our 'fancy' clothes." "Shinji's right. We should get ready. The star is nothing to cry over Asuka. So go get into your little dress. You don't want Kaji to show up and see you in your casual, do you?" Misato asked with a sly grin. "Ahhhh! You're right!" Asuka gasped as she ran towards her room to get ready. Shinji was about to go to his room before he felt Misato pull him back, and press her lips to his in a firm but sweet kiss. Shinji was shocked beyond reason. After about ten seconds Misato broke the lip lock with a satisfied grin on her face. Shinji, after gaining use of his voice again, began to stammer. "Wh-what...why...you-you.." Then, Misato pointed upwards. Shinji directed his eyes in the direction she was pointing, and found a clump of mistletoe above him. Realization came over him, but it did not hide his shock. Misato made her way past him, casually stating, "You should get ready, Shin."

It was 8:00 now and the first ring at the door came. Shinji was in a full tuxedo with a corsage on his left breast. Shinji came to open the door to find Toji and Kensuke in the suits they wore for the dance last month. "Hey Shinji! How's it going, man? Thanks for inviting us." Toji greeted cheerily. "Yeah, hey we got you and Misato presents. We even got Asuka one." Kensuke stated holding out three colorfully wrapped parcels. Taking them, Shinji said, "Oh, you guys didn't have to get us anything. Well, come on in, we got you guys presents too." he said standing aside to let them in. "See? Good thing we got them. We can't show up to a party where someone has gifts for us and we don't have anything for them." Toji said as he and Kensuke came in, took off their shoes and hung up their coats. Toji quickly snuck something out of his coat pocket and stuffed it into his pants pocket. Shinji followed them into the living room where Misato was waiting with two glasses of sparkling apple juice and wearing a very revealing female Santa outfit. "Hey you guys! Merry Christmas! Glad you could come!" Misato greeted them cheerily. "MISATO! I thought you got a real dress! That outfit makes you look like you should be at a Christmas strip club or something!" Shinji exclaimed incredulously. "Well there's a difference between what you think and what happens." she said. Though Shinji looked on with disapproval, he couldn't help but stare at her voluptuous body.

After he put the presents under the tree. The bell rang again. He went to the door, glad to get away from Asuka, Kensuke and Toji's bickering, though in the spirit of the holiday, they withheld from letting go as far as it usually did. When Shinji opened the door he found Aoba, Hyuga and Maya. Aoba in a fashionable tux, Hyuga was in a ordinary suit though it seemed a little more expensive than Toji and Kensuke's. Maya was in a gorgeous red dress that exposed her back and showed off the curves that her NERV uniform usually concealed. "Hey there Shinji." Hyuga greeted. "Yeah, thanks for inviting us." Aoba added. Each had three presents in their arms, do doubt for him, Misato and Asuka. "Here you go Shinji. We hope you guys like them. We tried to get what we thought you guys might want." Maya explained handing him her presents. Shinji cradled them in his arms with a smile and stood aside for them to come in. "Thanks you guys. We got presents for you too." "We'll just put our presents under the tree, since you've got your hands full." Hyuga said as they walked in.

When they got inside, Aoba and Hyuga placed their presents under the tree and greeted Misato, who gave them some expensive holiday champagne. _"Well I guess Asuka was kind of right. She was out getting some expensive booze."_ Shinji thought as the door rang again. Shinji answered it and found Hikari outside by herself. She was dressed in a aquamarine spaghetti strap dress with a wool covering her arms. She to had three presents in hand. "Hey Shinji! Good to see you. Merry Christmas. I'm really grateful that you invited me. Oh here, I got you, Asuka and Misato some gifts. Hope that's okay." she said timidly. Taking them with a smile he said, "Of course it is. Are you kidding? Come on in, it's starting to snow again." he said letting her inside. "Thanks." she said as she passed by. Shinji closed the door and went inside to put the presents under the tree.

When Asuka saw Hikari come in, she ran towards her and they immediately got into a conversation. Asuka commenting on Hikari's aquamarine spaghetti strap and Hikari commenting on Asuka's pink elegant, strapless. Shinji decided to head back to the door. And as he thought, right when he got to the door, it rang. He opened it and found Kaji and Ritsuko. Kaji was in a plain button-up, collared, white, dress shirt and dress pants. Along with a black tie. Ritsuko was in a dress similar to Hikari's, only it was black. And she wore a silk scarf around her shoulders. "How's it going Shinji." Kaji asked giving a small wave. "Hey Kaji. Merry Christmas and you too Ritsuko." he said turning his head to the blonde doctor. "Merry Christmas Shinji. Here's your and Asuka's present's and I'll hold on to Misato's." Ritsuko said holding a small envelope in her hand. "Okay, um, don't you have presents Kaji." "Oh, well, I couldn't think of anything to get you so here." he said digging into his back pocket. He then pulled out ten thousand yen and handed it to Shinji. "This is for you. And I'm sure that just being here will be enough of a present for Asuka." he said walking in. Shinji looked at the money in his hand and then pocketed it. _"Okay."_

As Shinji came back in he looked around at the people he saw. The people he never thought he'd see in any other situation besides combat. He saw Asuka clinging to Kaji while Hikari watched, amused. He saw Aoba and Hyuga mingling with glasses of champagne in hand. He saw Toji and Kensuke eating some of the left over cookies. And he saw Misato and Ritsuko talking, also over glasses of champagne. Everyone was here now. Except for one person. Shinji's guest of honor. The one person he'd rather have here alone than with any of these other people. Just her, would be enough make Shinji happy. Just then there was the tiniest knock at the door. So slight that Shinji was barely able to hear it over the Christmas time merriment. Shinji opened the door to find Rei looking absolutely beautiful. She was in a tight dress that looked like it was made of vinyl on the top that came up to her neck and wrapped around it and had a little pink flower right between the collarbones. Then it was separated by a yellow sash that looked like a clear, yellow ribbon. After that it looked like a normal dress that went down to her knees. She also had gloves that reached up to her elbows that looked like they were made of the same material as her top.

The snow falling behind her and the light from the house, makes her look like the kind of angels you only hear about in poems. Shinji just couldn't believe his eyes. Rei was the human embodiment of Venus as one would imagine her. Rei held a little present in her hands. "Hello Ikari. Merry Christmas." she said in her quiet tone. Shinji finally snapped out of his trance and said, "Um Rei. Hi, uh, Merry Christmas. Um, uh come on in." he said standing aside. Rei came in and handed him the present. "Here Ikari. This is for you." she said and then walked in. Shinji stood there with the gift in his hands, staring after Rei. _"Where did she get that dress? All she ever wears is her uniforms. It's gorgeous." _A small draft of the freezing air outside brought Shinji out of his thoughts and made him close the door.

Shinji came in and placed the present under the tree. He looked around and decided that everyone was here now. "Okay everybody! Everyone's here, so now we can eat." Misato announced. Everyone gathered around the table and soon, everyone was enjoying Shinji's delicious holiday cooking. Everyone was socializing with everyone. Guys making fun of how the other one looked in formal clothing, and girls commenting each other on it. Toji and Kensuke were stuffing themselves full of mash potatoes, turkey, ribs and stuffing. Kaji was having a good time flirting with Misato, who was enjoying every minute of it. Ritsuko was formally eating her food along with talking to Maya. Asuka and Hikari were engaged in a conversation consisting of whispers, pointing and giggles. All the adults were sipping at Misato's champagne while the kids got to sip at their sparkling apple juice. Shinji was seated next to Rei, who was quietly eating her vegetables.

Shinji was struggling to think of something to talk about. "So Ayanami, um...You-tha-. That's a, a nice dress." Rei turned to Shinji. "Thank you, Ikari. I went out to purchase it for the occasion. It...pleases me that you find it appealing." Rei stated a little more softly than she usually does, with the slight trace of a blush under her eyes. "It-it does? Oh that's nice. Yeah that's, that's nice." "Your attire is very fashionable as well, Ikari." Rei said. "Oh, you think so? Heh, heh. Um thanks." he babbled with a smile and blush, putting his hand behind his head in embarrassment. Soon everyone was done with their dinner, so Shinji thought it would be a good idea to bring out the desserts he had prepared last night. Shinji brought out of the freezer a Muskatzimerle, a Rabanadas and a Cozonac. He placed the three cakes down on the table and began cutting slices for people. Maya, Ritsuko and Hyuga had the Muskatzimerle. Toji, Kensuke, Hikari, Shinji, Rei and Aoba had the Cozonac. And Misato and Kaji had the Rabanadas. Asuka was about to get some of the Cozonac when Shinji stopped her. "Wait Asuka. I've got a special dessert for you." With that he went back into the kitchen. In a few seconds he came out with a Rumtopf. Asuka gaped at the small individual cake. "Merry Christmas Asuka." Shinji said, handing the cake to Asuka. She took it from him and placed it on the table. Then she turned to Shinji. "You made it specially for me?" "Yeah. You like them?" he asked. "Like them? I love them! I had these every Christmas back home." She then stood up and did something no one thought she'd ever do. She took Shinji in a tight embrace. "Thank you, Shinji." Shinji just blushed and said, "Yo-your welcome."

After dessert, everyone commented Shinji on his awesome cooking. To which Shinji blushed and stated that "It was nothing, really." Then, everyone gathered around the tree for the exchange of Christmas gifts. Everyone grabbed the presents they had brought. Presents were exchanged between numerous couples. Toji and Hikari. Asuka and Hikari. Misato and Kaji. Ritsuko and Maya. Hyuga and Misato. Ritsuko and Aoba. Maya and Shinji. Misato and Shinji. Everywhere you looked people were exchanging, giving and receiving. Except for one person. Shinji looked around the room, but couldn't find a trace of Rei anywhere. Then he saw her, outside on the balcony. Her coat pulled over her shoulders, looking up at the full silver moon that lay above the complex. Shinji came out onto the balcony with her. "Hey Ayanami. What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you bee inside?" Rei kept quiet. Shinji decided that it was either now or never. He reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in colorful wrapping paper.

He held it out to Rei and said, "Um, here. This-this is for you, Ayanami. Me-Merry Christmas." with a blush on his face. Rei turned to look at the parcel and then looked at Shinji. Then she took the present from Shinji. "Thank you Ikari." she said. For a little while Rei just stood there, staring at the gift, as if not knowing what to do with it. Then Shinji asked, "Are you going to open it?" he asked. Rei then looked up and stated, "I didn't know I was allowed to." Shinji looked surprised. "Of course you are. It's yours." Rei then looked back down at her present and began to open it. Once the paper was off, she let it fall to ground. Wrapped in the paper was a small white box. She took the cover off and inside that box, was a smaller black box. Rei placed the box on the ground and opened the black one. Inside, was a small silver ring with a diamond-shaped sapphire placed onto the silver loop.

Rei gasped in utter surprise. The ring was beautiful. The way the moon shone off the sapphire made it sparkle with a pretty shine. "Do you like it?" Shinji asked hopeful. Rei nodded her head slightly, still staring at the ring. "Ikari...this ring. It looks so expensive. How much did it cost?" she asked curiously. "It was 80,000 yen." he stated as if it was no big deal. Rei looked up in surprise. She didn't understand why Shinji would spend so much money on a gift for her. "Ikari, why would you spend so much on such a trivial thing such as a Christmas gift, for me?" she asked. Shinji blushed for a second. This was it. He was going to finally tell her. Putting on a smile, he pulled the box out of Rei's hands and took the ring out of the box. "Ayanami, no, Rei. That's what Christmas is about. It's the season of giving. That's what you do on Christmas. You get things for people that you care about. You do things for them to show that that you care." As he said this he slipped the ring onto Rei's right ring finger. All the while keeping his eyes on the ring. "You just can't help it. You want those that you love to know it. And so through your actions, you can tell them how much they mean to you." Then he looked up into her eyes and stared more deeply into them than he ever had before. "And through your words, you can _tell_ them how much you care about them."

Shinji didn't notice it but their faces were getting closer and closer with each passing second. "Rei, I love you." Rei continued to stare at him. Her eyes becoming misty. For so long, she had wished to hear those words from his mouth. And now that they had been spoken, she couldn't help it. She closed her eyes and the tears flowed. Sleek, silver tears of happiness. The kind you can only get from a love confession on Christmas Eve. She opened her eyes again and a small smile had placed itself on her face. "Shinji, I love you too." Shinji smiled. There was no need for words now. They had done it. There feelings for each other were now public. And as their lips met for a warm and tender Christmas kiss, they could hear the applause of their friends on the other side of the glass door. They turned to them, they weren't mad or surprised, they were just happy.

As she clapped, a small tear came to Misato's eye. Kaji turned to her and asked, "Hey, Katsuragi, what's up with you?" As Shinji and Rei came back inside, arm in arm, Misato just watched them with a smile on her face and said, "Nothing, It's just, seeing Shinji grow up over all this time. Seeing him come out of his shell from that timid little boy I picked up in my car to this. To having a girlfriend with her arm in his." And as she spoke, more tears began to come. "I know I'm not his mother but,...I just can't help but feel...so proud of him." And slowly, she felt Kaji wrap his arms around her in a warm embrace from behind her as they both watched the Christmas couple walk on.

"So Shinji, it finally happened! You finally got Rei! Congratulations man!" Toji said giving him the thumbs up signal. "Yeah! Smile Shinji, you and Rei are going to watch this years from now when you guys are married and you don't want to look like a wet blanket, do you?" Kensuke said recording every minute of this with his camcorder. Asuka and Hikari were next to them. "Hah! I knew it! It was only a matter of time before you got yourself involved with Wondergirl." Asuka said with a smirk. Hikari put her hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Asuka! Don't tease him! This is a very special night for Shinji and Rei. Can't you at least be a little nice?" "I am! I'm just stating a fact. I knew this was going to happen someday. Thank God it's over and done with now!"

As all this went on around him, Shinji just couldn't help but smile. And neither could Rei. They turned and looked into each other's eyes, and they just couldn't resist. Their faces came together again and they shared yet another kiss. Which only caused everyone to cheer more. Then, the door bell rang. The cheering stopped as everyone thought who could have shown up so late? Shinji and Rei, still arm in arm, walked to the door to see who it was. When Shinji opened the door, he saw the last person he thought he'd ever see.

His father stood there in the door. Covered in the fallen snow, though it did not seem to bother him. He wore his normal outfit and his usual scoff face. He looked down upon Shinji and Rei, eyeing the both of them. Shinji couldn't find his voice. His father was right in front of him, on Christmas Eve. Soon, Fuyutsuki came in from behind Gendo, "Merry Christmas Shinji, Rei." he said looking at them. "Um, uh Me-Merry Christmas to you, sir." Shinji said nervously. He then turned back to his father, who was still staring at them. For a few moments, everything seemed to be frozen. The snow stopped falling, he stopped breathing. Everything had stopped in its tracks. Then, Gendo reached inside his coat and pulled out a small photograph. He held it out to Shinji, who took it slowly. He looked at the picture and saw three people in it. His father, himself...and his mother. He stared wide eyed at the photo and then back up at his dad. "But, I-I thought you said.." "I know what I said." his father interrupted. "It's just that, It was the only picture I had of your mother...and I didn't want to lose it. But, it is Christmas, and so...I give it to you Shinji. It's the only photograph of your mother that we have. Take good care of it,...Merry Christmas...son." he said quietly.

Shinji looked up into his father's eyes behind his glasses and saw one, single tear fall from his eye. Shinji uncurled his arm from Rei's and did the last thing he ever thought he would do with his dad. He spread his arms out and wrapped them around Gendo's waist, in a tight hug. His eyes tearing and slight sobs hiccuping out of his mouth. Gendo was frozen for a moment, before he brought his arms around his son, returning the embrace. Everyone behind them who had come to see who was at the door, once again, began to clap. Kaji, Misato, Ritsuko, Maya, Aoba, Hyuga and Fuyutsuki all thought simultaneously, _"It really is the season of miracles."_

Misato then ceased clapping to say, "Hey, you know what? You two should come inside! We were just about to take a picture! Come on!" she said as she ran out and grabbed the Sub-Commander's hand and dragged him inside. Shinji and Gendo broke the first hug they had ever shared and went inside. Rei re-wrapped he arm in Shinji's as the walked inside. Everyone gathered in front of the tree and got in their places. Shinji and Rei were next to each other, still arm in arm. Asuka was on Shinji's other side with her arm in his. Hikari and Toji were next to each other on Shinji's right side. Kensuke was next to Toji off to the side. Ritsuko, Kaji and Maya were side by side with Aoba and Hyuga behind them. Gendo and Fuyutsuki stood behind Shinji's shoulders. Misato set the camera to go off in ten seconds. When the timer was running, she ran quickly directly behind Shinji and put her chin on his head and draped her arms over his shoulders. "Okay everyone, say 'Merry Christmas!'." Misato said, with five seconds left on the timer. "Merry Christmas!" everyone cheered in unison. The flash went off, and it was a picture that everyone would have hanging up on their wall tomorrow, on Christmas Day.

_**The End**_

WOW! That was a long one! Well, I hope you guys liked it. It took me a whole three days to write. Be on the lookout for other Christmas fics from me later. I hope your guys holidays are full of happiness and cheer. **_Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!_**


End file.
